From Tay Garnett’s One Way Passage to Frank Borzage’s History Is Made at Night, Hollywood had a fondness for romance on the high seas in the 1930s. In these films, an ocean liner intensifies the first flickers of love—that ineffable feeling of being transported outside of time and space—as characters are moved across water for days, if not weeks, on end.
In Leo McCarey’s Love Affair, this setting finds soon-to-be-lovers Michel (Charles Boyer) and Terry (Irene Dunne) far from their respective romantic partners, as well as the restrictive social mores that would more strongly discourage Terry from so conspicuously flirting with a well-known playboy. The film’s first half has the pleasant wisp of a romantic comedy, relying on the charming repartee between the leads, who improvised much of their dialogue in these early scenes. This was McCarey’s preferred working method, particularly in his comedies, and it lends Dunne and Boyer’s performances a looseness and spontaneity that nicely complements Terry and Michel’s instant and powerful connection.
When the film’s ocean liner docks in Madeira for a quick stopover and Terry runs into Michel outside of his grandmother’s (Maria Ouspenskaya) house, the duo’s relationship begins to evolve into something more serious. Elsewhere, when Terry enters a church to say a prayer, Michel lovingly gazes down at her as she’s bathed in angelic light—his understanding of her completely reconfigured as he becomes aware of another dimension of her personality.
Their spiritual connection further intensifies in a poignant scene where Michel’s grandmother plays “Plaisir d’amour” on the piano as Michel and Terry look on. The scene unfolds with the patience of a hunter. McCarey frames the trio in medium shot, before cutting to a lengthy close-up on Michel—impassioned by Terry humming along to the tune—that’s repeated after Terry begins singing the song’s lyrics. The song’s melody even becomes a musical motif that runs throughout the rest of the film, reminding us of the exact moment when Michel truly fell in love with Terry. Soon after this scene, when the duo are back on the boat, there’s a lovely shot where the camera tilts down on a close up of them holding hands, then tilts back up just in time to capture their first kiss, serving as a visual consecration of their bond.
It’s then that Love Affair blooms into a full-on melodrama, a transition that’s alluded to when Terry whispers to Michel, “We’re heading into a rough sea.” As the ship pulls up to a New York City harbor, Terry and Michel know that they want to be together, but must get their affairs in order in the meantime, so Terry suggests that they meet at the top of the Empire State Building in six months. She tells Michel—in another instance of the film reiterating the spiritual dimension of their love—that it’s “the nearest thing to heaven we have in New York.”
This meeting, though, never transpires, as Terry is hit by a car on her way to meet Michel, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. It’s a tragic turn that was a direct effect of the Hays Code, which demanded that Terry suffer consequences from stepping out on her fiancé. But McCarey’s knack for making such restrictions work to his advantage reveals itself in this scene. In fact, elements of both the director’s Catholic faith and his belief in the power of love are imbued in this calamity, as Terry is struck as she was looking up to the top of the Empire State building, her eyes already on heaven even as her body was still firmly planted on earth.
In the wake of her accident, Terry’s love for Michel remains as strong as ever, yet she cuts off contact with him for fear that he will reject her because of her condition. And it’s her struggle to reconcile her material reality with her emotional desires that drives the film’s final act. Love Affair’s thoughtful resolution confronts Terry’s conflict, while also weaving in Michel’s own suffering after their separation—which he externalizes in his paintings—in a tender final scene that’s remarkably, and fittingly, transcendent and sensual in equal measure.
Image/Sound
The new 4K restoration by the Museum of Modern Art and Lobster Films that appears on this Blu-ray absolutely sparkles, boasting a sharp image that’s rich in detail and texture. One need only look at Terry’s fur coat and various gowns to see just how much information is visible in the frame. There’s also a nice depth to the image, as well as an impressive contrast and a strong, even grain distribution. The uncompressed mono soundtrack is nearly as impressive, with a full-bodied sound that’s completely free of hisses and pops.
Extras
This release is light on extras by Criterion’s standards, but critic Farran Smith Nehme makes the most of her 23-minute interview, touching on the careers of Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, and Leo McCarey, as well as the latter’s deft handling of comedy and melodrama. Most interesting is her discussion of the effects that the Hays Code had on the film, which she dovetails nicely into how McCarey’s staunch Catholicism leaves its mark as well.
A brief interview with Serge Bromberg, the founder of Lobster Films, includes pre- and post-restoration clips to show what a massive improvement has been made in terms of image and sound from previous releases of the film. The disc also includes two radio adaptations of Love Affair, featuring Dunne, Boyer, and William Powell, along with two of McCarey’s comedy shorts that he made with Charley Chase at Hal Roach Studios. The package is rounded out with a foldout booklet that includes a thoughtful essay by author Megan McGurk.
Overall
While Criterion’s edition of Leo McCarey’s Love Affair is unfortunately light on extras, the fine presentation of the 4K restoration is worth the price alone.
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